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Tech men's basketball wins OVC Team Academic Achievement Award

Posted
Friday, August 10, 2018 12:25 pm

When the Ohio Valley Conference announced its 2017-18 Team Academic Achievement Awards, Tennessee Tech came away with one team honor as the Golden Eagle men's basketball team claimed the award for the fourth time in program history and first time since 2011-12.

"This is a compliment to our players and their families, the kind of young men that they raise and the work ethic and importance on education they place on them," head coach Steve Payne said. "More than anything else though, it is about having the right kind of guys. Our assistant coaches did a great job of keeping tabs on everyon. We thank all of our professors on our campus. We do miss a lot of school due to travel and the fact that we have a great faculty to work with that keep our student-athletes' education a priority is great.

The award is presented annually in each conference-sponsored sport to the member institution with the greatest percentage of its eligible student-athletes who achieved a 3.25 grade point averaged or higher.

"First and foremost, Tech is a place for our young men to get an education and then play basketball," Payne expressed. "Having student-athletes that have receiving an education as a priority is also a leading factor. It takes a lot of work from our players, our staff and our faculty, but it truly boils down to the kids and the kind of families they come from. That's where it starts. It's a great honor for our program and it makes it sweeter that we had a competitive team full of guys who were good and took their education seriously. We will look to strive and do it again every year, but I want to compliment and thank the departing seniors. They were a lot of fun to be around."

Nine different member institutions claimed honors this season.

The winners included:

Baseball – Jacksonville State

Men's Basketball – Tennessee Tech

Women's Basketball – Belmont

Men's Cross Country – Murray State & SIUE

Women's Cross Country – Jacksonville State

Football – Jacksonville State

Men's Golf – Eastern Kentucky

Women's Golf – Morehead State

Rifle – Morehead State

Women's Soccer – Eastern Kentucky

Softball – Murray State

Men's Tennis – Austin Peay & Tennessee State

Women's Tennis – Austin Peay

Men's Track and Field – SIUE

Women's Track and Field – Morehead State

Women's Volleyball – Austin Peay & SIUE

Belmont also received the league's Institutional Academic Achievement Award, presented to the OVC member institution with the greatest percentage of its eligible student-athletes that earned a 3.25 GPA or higher for the academic year.